Titanic Heroes

Good Morning everyone,

Here is a story that was reported on the BBC news today. There were many heroes that fateful night, tomorrow I will put up a post about John Harper who was a Pastor from Scotland and also a passenger on the Titanic.

Have a good Wednesday.

Titanic City - Belfast

I couldn't let the month about Ireland go by without mentioning its most famous creation...or is it 'infamous'? We are approaching the 100th anniversary of the beginning of its construction.

The Titanic.

No other ship in the history of ocean travel has demanded as much interest as the Titanic. Volumes of books and reels of film have been produced regarding the most infamous ship in history.

The idea of the luxury liner was first conceived of in 1907, but the Titanic construction did not actually begin until March 31, 1909 in Belfast (Ireland). The construction of the Titanic was handled by Harland and Wolff, who are still there today.

It took 3 years for building of the Titanic to be completed and in the end it cost $7.5 million dollars for the ship to be finished. More than 3000 men were employed in building the Titanic during that time span. In the months, and even years, leading up to the maiden voyage of the Titanic; the White Star Line published numerous marketing materials claiming that the ship was 'designed to be unsinkable'.

Sadly, this seemed to be shaking a fist in the face of God, with claims that even He could not sink it!

On the night of 14 April 1912, during her maiden voyage, Titanic hit an iceberg and sank two hours and forty minutes later, early on 15 April 1912. The sinking resulted in the deaths of 1,517 people, making it one of the most deadly peacetime maritime disasters in history. The high casualty rate was due in part to the fact that, although complying with the regulations of the time, the ship did not carry enough lifeboats for everyone aboard. The ship had a total lifeboat capacity of 1,178 persons even though her maximum capacity was 3,547 people. A disproportionate number of men died also, due to the women-and-children-first protocol that was followed.

Belfast is proud of the work her men did in building this great ship. Sadly, however, those in charge were only thinking of their own selfish ambition and had no thought for God or the souls of the passengers they carried to their death.

Never think your sin doesn't have consequences....

Irish Dance

Ireland has a strong dance tradition dating as far back as the 15th Century. It, together with native music was the focal point of community gatherings down through the ages. The most popular of the Irish dances are the Jig and the Reel with many involving both solo and group dancing.

From 1829 the 'Dance Master' came into existence. He was a wondering dancing teacher, who travelled from village to village teaching dances to children. These Dance Masters existed in rural Ireland right up to the early 20th Century, but gradually were replaced by the dance schools that we have today.



Soft shoes were worn for jigs and reels and then hard tap shoes were used for Set Dances and 'heavy jigs' etc.

The costumes worn by the dancers are as important as the dance itself. Each Irish Dance school has its own distinct costume and most of the dresses are adorned by embroidery designs inspired by the Book of Kells

One of my earliest childhood memories was going to dancing lessons. I was part of Mrs Tennants Dance Class in Ballymoney. We wore blue dresses for team dancing and I had a white one for solos.

Here is a great sample of solo, group, light and heavy jigs, reels and the very modern.

St Patrick's 'Breastplate'

St. Patrick's Breastplate is contained in the ancient Book of Armagh, from the early ninth century. Along with Patrick's authentic "Confession." St. Patrick is said to have written this prayer to strengthen himself with God's protection as he prepared to confront and convert Loegaire, high king of Ireland. There are some similarities to Paul's exhortation to "put on the whole armor of God" (Ephesians 6:10-18), except that it is much more detailed.

Here are some excerpts from it...

I arise today

Through a mighty strength,

the invocation of the Trinity,

through the belief in the threeness,

Through the confession of the oneness

Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today

Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,

Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,

Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,

Through the strength of his descent for the Judgment Day.

I arise today

Through God's strength to pilot me:

God's might to uphold me,

God's wisdom to guide me,

God's eye to look before me,

God's ear to hear me,

God's word to speak to me,

God's hand to guard me,

God's way to lie before me,

God's shield to protect me,

God's host to save me

From snares of demons,

From temptations of vices,

From everyone who shall wish me ill,

Afar and anear,

Alone and in multitude.

Christ be with me,

Christ before me,

Christ behind me,

Christ be in me,

Christ beneath me,

Christ above me,

Christ on my right,

Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down,

Christ when I sit down,

Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through belief in the threeness,

Through confession of the oneness,

Of the Creator of Creation.

Have a great Lord's Day and may this be the prayer of our hearts today and everyday we walk on this earth.

Fadge?

Sorry folks yesterday seem to pass and I never got to my blog once. To tell the truth Esther(13) was given a family history project to do for school and I got caught up in the Scottish records trying to trace Rob's mother's side of his family. We managed to get back to 1762!! but that's for another post.

However getting back to the post at hand....

The first ingredient that comes to mind when most people think of Irish cuisine is the potato. The potato was brought back to Ireland from the western world. It immediately became a staple of the Irish diet. It is safe to say that no meal is complete without the inclusion of the potato in some shape or form.

'Fadge' - Potato Bread.

INGREDIENTS
4 medium potatoes, peeled and halved
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tablespoon melted butter


DIRECTIONS
1.In a pot, cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Simmer on medium-high heat until the center of the potatoes are tender when pricked with a fork, about 20 minutes.

2.Turn off heat. Drain, return potatoes to pot and allow to completely dry out over remaining heat. Mash with a potato masher until smooth.

3.Place warm mashed potato in medium bowl. Stir in flour, salt and melted butter. Mix lightly until dough forms.

4.On a well floured surface, knead the dough lightly. The dough will be sticky. Use a floured rolling pin to flatten into a 9 inch circle about 1/4 inch thick. I would encourage you to use the back of your hand before you use the rolling pin to flatten it until it is near the required thickness.Cut into quarters using a floured knife.

5.Sprinkle a little flour into the base of the skillet and cook the farls for 3 minutes on each side or until evenly browned. Season with a little salt and serve straight away.

Again this bread is traditionally served as part of an Ulster Fry(see yesterday's post).

Have a good weekend,

Oh and happy belated first day of Spring.

A Flavour of Home....

If you went to visit Ireland and were told you were going to have Soda Bread you might think you were going to have a piece of this...

We would call this a 'Fruit Farl'

The word 'farl' is derived from the Gaelic word 'fardel' which literally means 'four part' and this refers to the way that these griddle breads are typically cut and served in quarters.

This is what would actually be served to you...

Irish Soda Bread

3.5 cup flour

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 to 2 1/2 (see note below) cup buttermilk

1. Lightly grease a heavy skillet.

2. Sift the dry ingredients together into a large bowl; make sure the soda is evenly distributed.

3. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture and add about half the buttermilk. Stir until you have a raggy dough that is very squashy but which looks more or less dry. Add more liquid sparingly until you achieve this texture.

4. Blend until all the flour has achieved this consistency; then turn out immediately onto a lightly floured board and knead for no more than a minute or a minute and a half. Overkneading makes this bread very tough, and it's very easy to overdo it.

5. Shape the dough into a circle about 9 inches by one inch thick and cut into four wedges or "farls." Place in the preheated skillet, with cut edges about half an inch apart. Cook slowly on the stovetop over low-to-medium heat; it should take about 20 minutes for the farls to puff up and turn a light brown on the pan side. Turn them and cook for another 20 minutes.

6. For a softer crust, wrap in a dishtowel after baking.

7. Notes: You will need somewhere between 1 1/4 and 2 1/2 cups of buttermilk, depending on how much liquid your flour tends to absorb. Try to avoid using regular milk. If you must, use baking powder instead of baking soda. Serves 8.

This can be served 2 different ways -

1. You can split them and spread with butter and your favourite flavour of jam, along with a good cup of hot tea this goes over a treat.

2. You can split it and fry it along with 'Fadge'(recipe will be posted tomorrow) bacon, sausage, mushrooms, black pudding, eggs, tomato, and you will have for yourself an 'Ulster Fry'. Typically eaten for breakfast but many also have it traditionally on a Saturday night for 'tea', again you need a big mug of hot tea to swill it all down!

If you would like more history on the Irish Soda Bread you can take time to read all about it here.

Have you ever seen Riverdance?

I decided this morning to have a little reprieve from St Patrick and inject a little humour to my blog but remain with the theme of Ireland.At the St Patrick's Day Parade yeasterday we saw lots of Irish dancing(pictures will follow in a day or two) but we didn't see any quite like this......

This is a take off of 'Riverdance' it is from a wonderful movie called First Snow of Winter. Our kids still love to watch it. (Pause the playlist before playing)

Enjoy!

Here is the real thing....

I used to be able to do something similar....thankfully there is no video of that!!

of course you may prefer this version!......

Have a good day!

Chapter 7 - Patrick's Faith

May I take this opportunity to wish you all a Happy St Patrick's Day.

I think it is fitting that we are looking at the foundation of the Patrick's life and why he was committed to preaching the good news of the gospel to the Irish people.May I also challenge you not to dwell too much on green popcorn, parades, music and superstition but rather on the real Patrick. Think about what he really stands for and on, the Word of God, and ask yourselves 'Is this what I am building my life on or am I building it on the imagination and superstitions of men?

Be like the wise man and Patrick, who built his house on the rock so that when the storms of life crash around you, you have a solid foundation of Christ and His word to stand on...

Patrick was a man of one book. The foundation of his faith was the Bible. His writings are full of scripture quotations and are his sole authority and inspiration for his life.

He does quote from one other source apart from the scriptures near the beginning of his 'Confession'. He sets out a simple scriptural statement of belief, from a creed probably adopted by the British church and thus is of considerable historical interest. Here is part of it...

"....every tongue should confess...that Jesus Christ is Lord and God;and we believe in Him and await his coming which will happen soon, as judge of the living and the dead...the Holy Spirit....makes those who believe and obey to be the sons of God and co-heirs with Christ and we confess and adore Him, one God in the Trinity of sacred name."


He taught the resurrection of the body and emphasized the return of Christ. He also had deep conviction regarding a coming day of Judgement from which said he, "...no one will be able to escape or hide."

Patrick never separated his doctrine from his lifestlye and mission. He believed that Christians were a 'letter of Christ' and he said, in effect, I cannot keep silent, I want to tell the world about His goodness and grace.

Chapter 6 - His Writings

As mentioned in an earlier post, there are two writings that we have of Patrick. One, a 'Letter' and the other his 'Confession'. The 'Letter' is by far the shorter of the two. It was written to a tyrant king and his soldiers condemning attacks on recently baptized believers and calling for others who had been taken captive to be released.

The other work, his 'Confession' was so named by himself in the very last line - "this is my confession before I die".It was not in any way a confession of sin but rather a record of God's dealings with him and a statement of his faith.

Patrick could have added a great deal more to our knowledge of pre-christian Ireland than he did,but that was not the reason why he wrote. He wrote to glorify God. He wrote about spritual matters. they were composed, as he says himself, in the knowledge that one day he would stand in judgement for any false or idle words that he might use.

Tomorrow - Patrick's Faith

Chapter 5 - Ireland Again

The Ireland Patrick came back to was inhabited

by barbaric Celtic tribes.

There were no proper roads, no towns,

and no structured form of central government.

The population would have been less than half a million.

The roof of his meeting house was the sky.

He came with his Latin bible(or part of it), some form of financial support, and the backing of a few Christians. He determined he would never leave again. It became his adopted country and for some 30 years he spread the gospel far and wide, believing he was fulfilling the 'Great Comission'. Bear in mind the great continent of America had not yet been discovered and so when he looked across the waters of the Atlantic he believed he was in those uttermost parts of the earth!!

Patrick marvelled at the fact he had returned to bring the gospel to those who had dealt so treacherously with him and his family...."Who compelled me?" he asked and then gave credit to the Spirit of God. "...it was not my doing, this holy compassion that I have towards that nation which once took me captive and dealt havoc among the men and women servants of my father's house."

Chapter 4-Back in Britain

During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia...

begging him, "come over to Macedonia and help us"

...we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia

concluding that God had called us

to preach the gospel to them.' - Acts 16:9,10

Shortly after his conversion he deserted his master, travelled 200

miles across country and found a ship about to sail.A slave on the run would have been exposed to considerable dangers and hardship but Patrick gives us few details except to say that he journeyed without fear and that the Lord guided him. After a 3 day sea crossing and a series of fascinating adventures he eventualy made it back to his parents' residence in Britain.

For 6 years he was denied all those things which we would regard as vital to any real quality of life, but speaking of that period he would later testify that the Lord "guarded me and comforted me as a father would his son." His association with Ireland , however, had not ended - it was only the beginning.

One night he says he had a vision in which he saw a man called Victoricus coming to him with a great number of letters. He read the title of one which said " THE CRY OF THE IRISH" and at that moment he seemed to hear the voice of the people who lived by the *Wood of Voclut*.Unitedly they said "Holy youth come and walk among us." Patrick was so moved that he could read no more. *See below



A return to Ireland was hardly in his plans but this changed everything. It would seem that from that moment there was born in his heart a burden to bring the gospel to that nation from which he says. pointedly, "I was only just able to escape."

Some years of preparation now followed. He became a 'deacon' in the local church and then was appointed an 'overseer'- typically he remarks "...I was not worthy." Some friends tried to persuade him to call off his mission to Ireland but he refused to be moved. Again typically, he says "...no thanks to me, it was God who prevailed in me."

*This area has been fairly positively identified as being in the north of Co.Mayo near the present day town of Killala in the west.This would strongly suggest that it was here and not Slemish in Co.Antrim that Patrick spent his years of captivity and would also explain why he had to travel 200 miles to get passage to Britain. Slemish is only approx 30-50 miles from the north and east coast.

Chapter 3-His Conversion

Slemish Mountain, Co. Antrim where St Patrick was said to look after his sheep. However,it is more likely to be Co.Mayo in the west of Ireland where Patrick was taken as a slave.

Chapter 3

"The experience of those captured for the slave market would be anything but humane:Patrick recalls that he experienced "hunger", "nakedness", and "being near the point of collapse."He was sold and eventually found himself working for a sheep farmer where conditions, initially at least, may not have been much better.Whatever religion he had was of the nominal sort, but now his hopeless and desparate plight moved him to earnestly seek God. Alone in Ireland, with no help but the Holy Spirit and his memory of the gospel, he was wonderfully converted.


Up to that time he confessed "...I did not know the true God...," but "...lay in death and unbelief,"and "...took no thought for my salvation..." Then he said "The Lord opened the understanding of my unbelieving heart that I might recall my sins and turn with all my heart to the Lord my God."

After his "faith began to grow" one immediate result for this new born believer was an urge to pray. He records that he lifted his heart to God while at his work "out in woods" or "on the mountainside" as many as "one hundred times a day." He would rise before dawn for prayer "...in snow and frost and rain, and felt no ill effect." Looking back, he attributes his health and energy at the time to "...the Spirit glowing in him."

The reality of that experience was woven into the remainder of his life. Near the end of his career, casting an eye back, he could say that from that time on "...the love of God and the fear of Him have grown in me and up to this day by the favour of God I have kept the faith." He never lost a sense of thankfulness to the Lord for what he often referred to as the "gift of God."

The Real St. Patrick-(cont'd)

Chapter 2

"Patrick was a Briton. In fact, he is the only ancient Briton of the Roman occupation that we really know anything about. To give a date for his birth is impossible but it was probably near the end of the fourth century - 390AD has been suggested.

He was of an aristocratic, well-to-do, religious family.His father Calpurnius, in addition to being a 'deacon' in the church held an official position associated with the Roman administration and owned a villa and estate near to the village called Bannavem Taberniae (there is some doubt about the exact name).Thought to lie somewhere near the west coast of Britain. Patrick's native tongue was an old Celtic language of which the present Welsh is a modified form, he was also familiar with Latin.

One fateful day a party of fierce Irish raiders descended on the estate; some of the servants were murdered and sixteen year old Patrick, along with many others, was overpowered, dragged to the boats and shipped across the sea to a life of slavery in Ireland. It was a frightening , traumatic experience, the memory of which remained with him the rest of his life.

As they headed home the pagan raiders could not have had the faintest notion that their brutal activities tht day would change the history of their island nor that, sixteen centuries later, the name of one of the captives huddled in the bottom of the vessel would be a household word, better known than that of St. Augustine or even Constantine the Great."

Tomorrow - His Conversion

Will the real St Patrick please stand up?...

I own a little book called 'The Real St. Patrick' by John Holmes of Northern Ireland. I have decided that as we draw nearer to celebrating the holiday set aside to the life of this man, I will write some excerpts from it to give you some myths, legends and throw in some truth also, about this character.

He says...

" It has been said that Patrick received much of his education and his religious training on the continent, (Europe) was sent to Ireland by the Bishop of Rome, landed initially at Wicklow, built his first Church near Saul, established his headquarters at Armagh, illustrated the doctrine of the Trinity by using a shamrock, was enormously successful, confounded his enemies through miraculous powers, overcame the opposition of the High King at Tara, climbed to the top of Croagh Patrick to commune with God, died on the 17th march and was buried at Downpatrick in Co.Down, N.I.

The truth is that not a single word of these 'facts' has any historical credibility at all.

...during those dark years after his decease, in the providence of God, somehow, somewhere in Ireland, two works of Patrick himself were reverently preserved and copied. These two writings, a 'letter' to the soldiers of a ruler called Coroticus and the 'Confession' (or testimony) are judged to be absolutely authentic-they are historical documents of incredible value. Scholars almost weep that Patrick has not told us more about his work and of the life and times in which he lived.

These two works are Ireland's oldest literature and are about the only known Latin writings of that age to have come out of a country of the Barbarians, that is outside of the Roman Empire.

We cannot emphasis too strongly that any real assessment of Patrick's character and work must depend only on his own words.
So who was St Patrick?....."

In chapter 2 tomorrow I will focus on his 'Early Days'....

PS. Happy Birthday to my Beloved....

Two nations divided by one common language....

I always knew there would be different everyday words I use, that when we moved to America I would have to change to be understood. Here are a few of them, have a laugh and if there are any more you know let me know and I'll post them ( subject to screening.) I do still use some of them.

Is that you? - If you're asked this, please don't answer with "Of course it's me". They only want to know if you've finished whatever you're doing.

Are you away? - Again, no stupid sarcastic answers. They're asking if you are going out / leaving.

What about ye? What's up - How are you?

tee, te & till -Different ways of saying 'To', depending on which area of N.I. you come from.

Catch yourself on! Wise up.

Dead on! Great. Perfect, Really nice. (Often used to describe people.)

Wet the tea - Make some tea.

sound - Also a word of praise generally used for describing people.

Wait till I tell ye -This is difficult to translate. It's a way of starting a conversation or introducing something important or interesting into the conversation.

Do you think I came up the Bann in a bubble?- Do you think I was born yesterday? (The Bann is the river that runs through N.I.) This phrase varies depending on which river you were brought up by.)

class, cracker, grand, stickin' out, magic, smashing, brilliant - Just a few more ways to say something's great.

ta, ta-ta, cheers, thankin' you - And a few ways to say thanks.

steady/steady on -Similar to saying 'behave' or 'that's enough'

eejit - Local pronunciation of the word idiot.

boggin', mingin', mankin' -Messy and horrible.

crack-craic - Fun.

dummy -Pacifier.

pram. -Stroller.

nappy -Diaper.

biscuit. -Cookie.

lolly/Ice lolly -Popsicle.

scone - A sweet biscuit...of sorts.

bun/ wee bun - Sweet roll, danish.

gravy ring - Sugar Ring doughnut.

bap-A bun or roll. Used mainly for sandwiches.

Ulster Fry -A fried meal with eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, soda bread, potato bread, beans, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc. ALL FRIED. Soda. Soda bread.

sweets -Candy.

cheerio - Good-bye. All the best! Good-bye, wishing you all the best.

boot- trunk

bonnet - hood

crisps - chips

chips - french fries

trousers - pants

plaster - band aid

trolley - shopping cart

nurse - when a child sits on your lap

pictures - cinema/theatre

So if you hear someone use these words/phrases this will help you interpret what they say!

Have a great day!

'Be Thou My Vision'

In the Fifth century A.D. Saint Patrick came to the Hill of Slane in County Meath in an early on attempt to convert pagan Ireland to Christianity. On the eve of the Christian feast of Easter, 433 A.D. which coincides with the Druid feast of Bealtine (Beal's fire) and the Spring Equinox, St. Patrick lit a bonfire upon the Hill of Slane. There was a law that no fire should be lit in the vicinity when the great festival fire of Bealtine blazed at the Royal seat of power on the visibly nearby Hill of Tara. ....

The lighting of a fire seems trivial to us but at the time it was equivalent to declaring war on the Druids and their pagan beliefs and war against the King of Ireland. That small act of starting a fire was a turning point in St. Patrick's life and in the history of Ireland. The Hill of Slane is where Saint Patrick confronted Laoghaire (pronounced Leary) , the High King of Tara and all Ireland. Patrick lit the Easter fire contrary to the Druidic law, and changed the spiritual landscape of Ireland forever.

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart

Naught be all else to me save that thou art

Thou my best thought by day or by night

Waking or sleeping thy presence my light.

Be thou my wisdom, thou my true word

I ever with thee, thou with me,

LordThou my great Father,I thy true Son

Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Be thou my battleshield, sword for the fight

Be thou my dignity, thou my delight

Thou my soul's shelter, thou my high tower

Raise thou me heavenward, O power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise

Thou mine inheritance, now and always

Thou and thou only, first in my heart

High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, after victory won

May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's sun

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall

Still be my vision, O ruler of all.

You can listen to this hymn by clicking it on my playlist at the bottom of my blog.